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Young Performers

Young Performer Support Hub

agentscasting directorsdiversity/inclusivityheadshotsmembershipparentspodcastself-tapingspotlight profilewellbeingyoung performers

Welcome to Spotlight! This page is designed to support you on your Spotlight journey and give you and your child all the guidance you may need along the way.

From refining their Spotlight profile to learning how to self-tape – everything you need is here.

I’ve included some of my favourite articles and top tips from our expert industry friends – casting directors, agents, headshot photographers, and licensing specialists, to name just a few. Whenever you find a spare moment, sign in and have a read. Each little nugget of insight will be helpful, particularly if this is a whole new world for you and your child.

Let’s start with our

Young Performer FAQs

Agent Engagement and Advice

Connecting with your child’s agent and growing that relationship is an important part of the process. Every agent will have their own way of working, so getting to know yours is key. Here are some articles to help you get started:

Agent Professional Organisations

These organisations have established a code of good agent practice and all agents who become members are expected to adhere to this and work collectively to promote best practices within our industry for their clients. It’s a good starting point if you’re looking for more information about how agencies operate and what is considered best practice. The AYPA is specifically for agents representing a younger clientele.

Casting Director Tips

The role of the casting director is to find the right performers for the right roles. They work across a variety of production types, including stage, commercial, feature film and TV, and use Spotlight every day to cast these productions. Enjoy their words of wisdom in the articles I’ve highlighted below.

Casting Director Professional Organisations

These organisations have been formed by casting directors joining together to establish a recognised standard of professionalism and best practices in the industry throughout all stages of the casting process. They’re a perfect place for you to research casting director names and see if they’re attached to one of these recognised organisations, what their body of work is, and also to gain a little more understanding of the role of the casting director.

Spotlight Profile Tips

It’s important to keep your child’s Spotlight profile up to date, in particular the headshot, height and skills. Overall, you want to make sure the profile is a current representation of your child. This is crucial for the casting director, and really helpful for your agent too. A good rule of thumb is that less can often be more – it’s easier to spot the important information on a concise profile than one that’s overpopulated.

Headshots

These two experienced headshot photographers have some great advice for parents and young performers when it comes to choosing the right photographer and getting the most out of your session:

Self-Taping

Self-taping can very often be the method used for first-round auditions, so it’s important to be as prepared as possible. We have some wonderful advice in the articles below, but the vital tip is to always film in landscape, not portrait, so hold your phone widthways not lengthways.

Safeguarding and Duty of Care

Safeguarding and duty of care is paramount at all times for children working in the entertainment world. Your agent will be experienced in the licensing and chaperoning requirements, so always be guided by them. These articles will inform you of the processes, but an important fact to know is that each job requires a new licence application.

Spotlight Industry Articles

Here are some more targeted content and podcasts that may become relevant to some of you during your Spotlight journey. For example: if your child is offered a job on tour, or if they decide they would like to look at performing as a future career.

Spotlight Podcasts

We have several podcast episodes that feature casting directors, agents and young performers themselves to help give insight into how the industry works:

Parent-to-Parent Support

Establishing a support network with other parents of young performers can be really helpful if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the new information and unknown territory. Sometimes the best advice comes from first-hand experience, so here are some of our most popular articles from parents of performers:

Spotlight Wellbeing

We often hear and use the term, ‘The highs and lows of being a performer’, and there is of course a reason for this – the industry really can be full of them. There are the extreme highs of getting a job, opening night, being on set, and seeing yourself up on the big screen, but equally, there are auditions that don’t come about, ‘pencils’ that don’t quite become a job, even shows that aren’t a success and close early. Finding a way to support your child’s wellbeing, as well as your own, to manage their expectations and yours isn’t always easy. These articles are a good place to start, as well as reaching out to your child’s agent, other parents, and the team here at Spotlight too.

Industry Best Practice

There is an enormous amount of work done by individuals and organisations within our industry to promote best practices as we continue to evolve, develop, and sometimes catch up with the ever-changing world we live in. These resources will hopefully show you the commitment we all have to make the performing arts industry a fairer and more inclusive community:

Additional Resources

Spotlight Membership

These links are specifically about things related to your membership, so have a quick look here to see if your query is covered, and if not just submit a request on the Spotlight Help Centre.

Image credit: Alex Charilaou